Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
by Miz Predictable
Summary: Trance--the enigma. wrapped up in a riddle with a tail in the middle, and somebody wants to know how she ticks...and he doesn't care how illegal it is, as long as he gets what he wants


**A/N: **This is set sometime after _**"Harper 2.0"**_. Hope you guys enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**__ Do not own Andromeda, though at the character auction i have a current bidding on Harper. Anyone steals him...watch out! Flames are unnecessary and will be ignored, so no need to bother. If you don't like it, I'm not forcing you to read it, am 1?_

**Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace**

**CHAPTER ONE-**

_Orion's Market Drift, Hothouse:_

The artificial air was muggy, almost suffocating. It was the perfect atmosphere for the vast array of plant life, Vines and Orchids, many species, growing thick and fast, clambering for domination. Trance Gemini traversed the large hot-house, her dark eyes milking in the wonders before her, the need to touch the lusciously soft petals, and the emerald green foliage was almost overwhelming.

The purple girl's insatiable curiosity was difficult to restrain, she was fascinated and awed by many things, her child-like innocence and naivety where all part of her charm, as equally as her love for everyone, and everything.

She halted suddenly, a strange sensation overcame her momentarily, and the light hairs on the nape of her neck prickled uncomfortably.

OoOoOoOoO

From high upon the glass viewing platform, he watched, utterly fascinated by the purple creature in amongst his precious plants, finally, after months of waiting, Trance Gemini. Seemingly the only one of her kind, male or female, inconceivably beautiful, like an imp, or a pixie.

He had only seen glimpses of her, photographs, video footage, sent by his good friend Sid. The betrayal to his adopted niece, Beka Valentine, would be great, but Sid was offered an obscenely large pile of money to place a tracking device onboard the Eureka Maru and he took it.

And so Sid had kept him updated quite often as to the whereabouts of it, the Andromeda Ascendant, and of course, Trance Gemini. But now was not the time. The Professor had to play his cards right if he was going to pull it off, so the upmost care would be taken in carrying out the illegal operation, subtlety was the key here.

Professor Caspian Blake tapped the communication bug that was nestled in his ear and spoke at a whisper.

"Bancroft, it is time,"

OoOoOoOoOoO

Trance peered around warily, a slight tingle of fear, creeping down her tail. She was beginning to wish she had dragged Harper along with her, instead of leaving him in the arms of some R-rated exotic dancer called Vixen.

"Can I help you young miss?" came a voice in her pointed ear.

Trance shrieked in astonishment, and spun around; coming face to face with the prettiest young boy she had ever seen. A small smile lifted her ruby lips, and her chocolate eyes twinkled. She loved making new friends.

"Yes, I'm looking for something medicinal. A good friend of mine is suffering from the Agoran Measles, and I just want something to make her stop scratching!"

The young man smiled, but it was the kind of smile that made Trance want to turn and run.

The kind of smile that didn't quite reach the eyes and make them twinkle, like Harper's. A cold, disturbing and slightly deranged smile.

"I can do one better for you young miss." He explained, his green eyes passing shiftily around the greenhouse as if to make sure they were completely alone before he continued. "I have another small industry, an offshoot of this one, as it were. It's very hush-hush, at the moment, but one of my employers has recently procured, by means unknown, the rare neptura orchid."

Trance gasped. It is said, that the neptura orchid only grows where the sun and the moon shine as equals in the sky.

And if Trance wasn't all mystic and wonder herself, she might've scoffed.

"The Neptura Orchid is said to—"

"—Cure any malady or illness in the galaxy, young lady. You could cure your lady friend for good!" the man completed her sentence. "And I could let you purchase it, a bargain for a beautiful young lady,"

The smile returned and a shiver raced down her spine. "I...I would love to...have it...but..."

The man shook his head. "You _must _have it. The opportunity is far too good to pass up! I will give you my card; it has the co-ordinates to the planet, where my industry operates, and my hailing frequency if you have any problems.

My name is Owen Bancroft, by the way,"

OoOoOoOoOoO

As Trance walked through the crowded markets, her eyes read over the small business-flexi, the co-ordinates now burnt in her memory like a sunspot.

She needed this plant, she yearned for it terribly. _Longed _for it...but what where the chances that this mysterious employer, as described by Bancroft, had found a genuine orchid?

It was all very strange...

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Trance was torn from her deep reverie by a voice floating through the throng of shoppers, calling her name over and over again. She looked around, and saw the source of the voice, the young engineer of the Andromeda Ascendant, and her best friend, Seamus Harper.

He approached, pushing through the people, his usual immaculately spiked hair, mussed, and his shirt wrinkled.

"How'd your shopping go my sparkly purple princess, find anything to help Beka?" he inquired, readjusting his gun-belt and cargo pants.

Trance clutched the mini-flexi in her fist, and gave him a shy smile. "I'm not sure..." She sounded uncertain, and indeed she was. "Maybe. But I have to talk to Dylan first," she explained.

Seamus shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile. "Wanna guess how _my_ shopping went?" he inquired cheekily.

Trance rolled her eyes skyward, and then fixed him with a knowing smile. "I don't need to guess, Harper. I already _know._"

Seamus couldn't help but be amused, and he chuckled, giving her a wink. "Are you ready to get off this dump?" he asked, glaring hotly at a passer-by who suggested something vulgar to

his purple friend, before disappearing into the masses.

Trance didn't even hear the comment, her thoughts shifting back to the cold card in her hand.

A Neptura Orchid...could it really be possible? On her quest to find rare, beautiful and mysterious plants, could she have finally found the rarest and most beautiful...at last?

Unconsciously tuning out Harper's inaudible ramblings as they headed to the hangar bay of the Orion Drift, Trance thought more about the man in the hothouse, and how, despite his beauty, he managed to make her feel so uneasy.

It wasn't until the doors of the Maru slid closed behind her and seal shut, did she push the matter from her mind. She placed her purse in the galley and watched Harper as he cracked open a can of Sparky cola.

"Are you alright Trance, you seem a little distracted," Harper commented.

Trance smiled a little. Of course he would notice her sudden abstractedness. She couldn't usually stay silent for any length of time.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Just something isn't sitting right with me. I'll have to get back to you,"

Seamus nodded. He wasn't going to push the matter with her. "Don't forget, I'm here if you...well if you need someone to talk too,"

"I know Seamus," She said, her smile widening as she followed the eccentric engineer to the cockpit.

"Kids, strap yourselves in, because this is gonna be a bumpy ride. You know how mother gets when we get home after curfew,"

And the _Maru_ cleared the Drift's hangar by five light minutes, before transiting to slipstream, and the rendezvous co-ordinates.

"Yes mother does tend to worry,"

**END CHAPTER ONE**

_Hope you guys enjoyed. If you want the next chapter, you know what to do. Free Sparky Cola's on me for reviewing as well ^_^_


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